Morris pleads guilty in wife's murder

Granville County officials say Scott Morris agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his wife Monday.

Prosecutors had charged Morris with first-degree murder and said they planned to seek the death penalty last year.

But Monday, Granville County District Attorney Sam Currin said Morris accepted a plea deal that will send him to prison for 13 to 16 and a half years. Currin said his office and defense attorneys had been working on the plea agreement for more than a year.

Kelly Currin Morris was 28 when she vanished Sept. 3, 2008. Her remains were found in a wooded area in November, 2009 and Morris was arrested.

In the autopsy report, the medical examiner did not list a cause of death, but said Currin Morris was likely the victim of homicide.

Investigator say Morris also set the couple's house - located southeast of Stem - on fire.